“Can I have it quiet in here, please?” said Nancy Robillard, director of this year’s musical, “Guys and Dolls.”

The large theater filled with only stage managers, a few actors and the director became a faint hush as the actors on stage continued their scene.

“Obadiah,” said Sky Masterson, played by graduate student David Storicks. “Obadiah Masterson, that’s my real name.”

Storicks repeated the line several times as Robillard stopped to give him direction. Storicks took the notes and started again.

“Guys and Dolls” is a play about a carefree time when people took chances and lived dangerous lives. Big-time gamblers, Sky Masterson and Nicely-Nicely Johnson find themselves in financial binds as they both find love along the way.

Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson recently sat on the steps of the stage, exchanging light conversation. They stopped and started, changing lines and movement until the scene felt comfortable.

Brown, played by Nicole Aleles, at one point was concerned about her angle. “Can the audience see me well?” she wondered.

“I’ll worry about the sight lines. You just go with what your impulses are,” Robillard said.

The rehearsal had continued for an hour and half as ensemble cast members slowly filled the theater.
The actors dressed as if they lived in the 1920s. The guys wore collared dress shirts, nice pants, hats and ties. The dolls, as they’re called, were in dresses and skirts with low heeled shoes. They were ready to the play the part.

“Let’s take a five minute break,” said Robillard. It was soon time to usher in a new scene that involved all cast members.

At the end of the break, the ensemble cast had arrived in its entirety. It’s obvious that the theater is no longer the theater.

Instead it’s a busy city filled with illegal activities and love in the air.

In the next weeks, the set won’t even look like the FDU theater.

With a Danny Kaye billboard, it’s clear the producers and stage designers are channeling the times of high bootlegging, gambling and living for each day.

“Everybody on stage, please,” said Robillard. The actors rushed the stage one by one.
However, before they started, Robillard had notes to go over.

She read from her binder, filled with script pages. A list of six items, including blocking a new scene, was on the agenda.

“We have a lot to go over,” she said. “And I’d like to get it done tonight.”
The ensemble then took their places and rehearsal resumed.

Sky Masterson (Storicks) sat in the audience, as he was not in this scene, but that did not deter him from sitting with his suit jacket and hat as he watched the rehearsal go on.

Storicks said he has been in more than 40 shows, and “Guys and Dolls” was his first. He was in high school at the time. Once a sheriff and now a gambler.

Music played through the theater and the actors were right on cue. The stopping and going resumed, blocking entrances, exits and the like.

Robillard stood in the center of the audience looking on, noting every movement the actors made.
“Hold, please,” she said as she jumped on stage and ran the scene again.

KRISTIN FULTON
ASSISTANT EDITOR

**Evening perfomances of “Guys & Dolls” will be held from Wednesday, April 1 - Saturday April 4 at 8 p.m. A Sunday matinee will be held at 2:30 p.m. on April 5. Admission is $10, $5 for students, according to a press release on FDU.edu.**

CORRECTION: “Guys & Dolls” is set in the 1950s, not the 1920s as stated above.